The Karen Read case attracted a circus-like atmosphere in Massachusetts with daily demonstrations eventually requiring police to maintain a buffer zone around the Dedham courthouse where the trial was held.
Keeping the peace cost the state nearly $210,000 in overtime, according to Massachusetts State Police, who provided data about the trial's cost Thursday in response to a records request.
Security at Norfolk Superior Court totaled $258,278.94, of which $208,112.71 was troopers' overtime pay for about 2,264 hours beyond the 806 regular hours of work, according to police. They didn't share the cost of providing security for a typical trial.
But Read's closely watched and contentious case became a cause celebre for some. While she was accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV during a snow storm in Canton in January 2022, she denied it, and a large group of supporters took up her argument that she was framed.
Before the trial started, Judge Beverly Cannone ordered that demonstrators be kept 200 feet from the courthouse. There were regular demonstrations during the monthslong legal proceeding.
The trial ended with a hung jury, though that process has been contentious, too — the Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments next month on whether to overrule Cannone's dismissal of Read's request to toss two of the three charges brought by the Norfolk District Attorney's Office.
State police also on Thursday shared payroll records for people who served as witnesses in the trial. The department paid overtime to four officers for trial preparations, with Trooper Michael Proctor and Det. Lt. Brian Tully each preparing for four overtime hours. Proctor's preparation cost totaled $313.46, while Tully's — over two days — totaled $560.66.
The state paid $43,902.35 in costs for its expert civilian witnesses from four firms: Bode, Hexordia, Venture Too and UC Davis.
